Chronic Wasting Disease in Wild Cervids

Dear Colleagues,

Cases of chronic wasting disease in wild cervid populations are becoming more frequent and widespread. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of January 2019, chronic wasting disease has been reported in wild deer, elk, and/or moose in 251 counties in 24 of the contiguous United States as well as two Canadian provinces. Additionally, it has been found in reindeer and moose in Norway and Finland, with South Korea having had reported cases imported into the country. Infection is caused by an abnormal protein called a prion that is passed between animals through bodily fluids and/or shared food, water, or contaminated soil, and it is always fatal. Other related prion diseases are bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) and Creutzfeldt–Jacob disease in humans. Prions are extremely persistent in the environment and can be viable for many years after being shed from infected animals. While there are no recorded cases of transfer to humans, chronic wasting disease remains a threat and has the potential to be devastating to wild and captive cervid populations.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide the opportunity to publish all of the existing knowledge and recent investigations in the field of chronic wasting disease in wild and captive cervid. We welcome contributions on the topic in the form of all types of papers. Furthermore, it would be interesting to receive research manuscripts in different areas. We also welcome high-quality papers concerning other diseases related to captive or wild cervid population survival, breeding, and conservation. I am convinced that this Special Issue will be an excellent source of references for everyone who studies deer populations.

Dr. Scott C. Williams
Guest Editor

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